N. Cotabato gov hits Piñol over ‘substandard’ irrigation projects

North Cotabato Governor Emmylou “Lala” Taliño-Mendoza blasted on Wednesday Agriculture Secretary  Manny Piñol for introducing "substandard" irrigation projects which she said were unable to service farmers in light of the severe drought.

In a statement, the governor referred to the Department of Agriculture's (DA) multi-million-peso solar-powered irrigation system project (SPIS) introduced by Piñol in 2017.

"Ang dalawang SPIS projects na naipamahagi at napondohan noong 2017 pa sa lalawigan ng Cotabato ay hindi gumagana. Isang malinaw na indikasyon na hindi ito dumaan sa maingat at masusing pag-aaral," Mendoza said.

The governor issued the statement as a response to Piñol's Facebook post last March 23, 2019, which supposedly accused her of hindering projects intended to help farmers in the province.

Denying this, Mendoza said: "Kung inyo pong mamarapatin at bilang Gobernadora ng probinsya ng Cotabato, nais ko pong ipaalam sa inyong lahat na taliwas sa paniniwala ng butihing kalihim, ang kasalukuyang pamunuan ng probinsya ay bukas sa lahat ng tulong mula sa anumang ahensya ng gobyerno."

“Hindi kailanman tayo magiging hadlang sa mga proyektong ika-uunlad ng lahat ng Cotabateños," she added.

"At bilang benepisyaryo ng mga proyektong galing sa national agencies, karapatan din po nating magtanong, mag-usisa at lalung-lalo na mapagmasid mula sa inisyal na mga plano hanggang sa aktual na implementasyon dahil pera po ng taong bayan ang ginagamit natin dito."

Piñol, who had served as governor of North Cotabato before being appointed Agriculture Secretary, cried foul over Mendoza’s criticism the next day.

“Why did she [say] its substandard? Is she an engineer or a solar irrigation expert?” Piñol said in a text message to GMA News Online.

The secretary added that he did not want to be dragged into a “political fight” between Mendoza and his younger brother. —LDF/LBG, GMA News